For many, the role of the bookkeeper conjures up images of a grey, dowdy person wearing tweed, with a large dusty ledger book. Younger people may never even have heard of a bookkeeper. So what does a bookkeeper do?

A bookkeeper is essentially a processor of information. They’ll take all of your receipts and invoices for the things you buy for your business and categorise them so that you can see how you are spending your business income.

An excellent bookkeeper (me) will not only process those records, but will do additional checks, such as looking at patterns – have you spent more on advertising this year, but seen no increase in revenue?

Crucially, they will keep on top of this processing to ensure that you meet all your regulatory deadlines, such as VAT and CIS returns, and talk with your accountant on your behalf. They can also act as your agent with HMRC, meaning they’ll make all those scary calls for you!

Can’t my accountant do all that for me?

Many accounting practices have their own bookkeeping sections, or outsource this role. They can do it, but what you don’t get is timely, regular information. You will also pay more, as they’ll charge a mark up on the bookkeeper’s rate.

If you want to focus on developing your business or give yourself the ‘me time’ your efforts deserve, then why use valuable energy and time processing your records? Wouldn’t you rather spend your time growing your business, or making what you have stand out from the crowd?
If you would like to spend more time at leisure, then why not do what you love (your business) and then leave the inputting work to an expert bookkeeper, giving you more time to spend with your hobbies.

No. If you think of yourself sorting receipts, raising invoices, reconciling bank statements, submitting your VAT returns, you will probably be spending 10-20 hours a week on that. An expert bookkeeper will do the same in a fraction of the time. Think about your trade – if you are a decorator, you could paint a room far better and far quicker than a bookkeeper could – so why wouldn’t that logic work in reverse?

Flourish Accounts has 30 years experience of bookkeeping, accounting and reporting. They bridge the gap between the traditional bookkeeper, who records data, but doesn’t make sense of it, and the accountant who uses the data to make better decisions for you from a tax point of view. It’s a fresh approach, someone who really makes sense of your numbers for you – quickly and in a language that you understand, delivered in a friendly and positive way.